Jessie Diggins’ victory in the Tour de Ski opening sprint race was quite a show. But Mathilde Myhrvold’s second place, her first ever World Cup podium and definite breakthrough, was no less impressive. 

The 23-year-old Norwegian cruised through the heats, advancing to the final seemingly effortlessly. But in the final, Myhrvold the surged to the finish line at the speed of light, crossing the finish line only one tenth of a second shy of first place. 

“I think that I have a pretty good sprint finish. And it was really fun to make the podium in a World Cup,” Myhrvold says after nearly winning the sprint in Lenzerheide on Tuesday. 

The humble Norwegian explains that the secret to success is being, well, less humble. 

“In order to get through the heats and make it to the final at the World Cup-level, you have to get to the front right from the start, and make the right decisions tactically when everything happens super-fast. That requires a lot both physically and mentally,” says Myhrvold, and continues: 

“So, coming into this season, I’ve worked specifically on claiming my presence, taking charge and skiing large,” she says. 

Who Will Win Tour de Ski? Check out ProXCskiing.com’s predictions for the overall Tour de Ski. 

One step closer to Beijing
Not only was Myhrvold’s second-place finish and first World Cup podium an impressive performance. The skate sprint is also one of the events at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Accordingly, the first stage of Tour de Ski was extremely important for anyone vying for a ticket to China in February.

None of the coaches were willing to promise Myhrvold a spot on the Norwegian Olympic team on the record after the sprint in Lenzerheide on Tuesday. But experts and insiders argue that Myhrvold will be hard to get around in the final team selection. 

Consistently advancing to the heats and the finals, lightning fast and cool as a cucumber on the course on every occasion so far this season: Myhrvold’s second-place finish in opening stage of Tour de Ski was certainly a strong bid for one of the last two spots on the Norwegian team to the 2022 Olympics. 

Five races to go
Tour de Ski continues in Lenzerheide this afternoon. Stage 2 features a 10-kilometer individual start classic race for women and 15-kiloemeter individual start classic race for men. 

Curious about where to watch Tour de Ski in your area? We got you covered! 

FACTS: Tour de Ski 2021/22 

• Tour de Ski 2021/22 starts in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on December 28 and concludes in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on January 4. 
• The race consists of six stages in eight days. Here are all the Tour de Ski details and the day-by-day schedule
• Tour de Ski 2021/22 is the 16th edition of the brutal stage race. These are the winners from the previous 15 Tour de Ski events. 
• The overall winners get 400 World Cup points for the Tour de Ski, which consists of six stages in eight days. Stage winners get 50 World Cup points. Accordingly, there are potentially 700 World Cup points for winning every stage of the Tour de Ski, which would determine the overall World Cup for the season.